A Blessing in Disguise
by MondeApprenant
Summary: Bella Swan was left alone. Edward Cullen was left for dead. When Bella finds herself with Esme and Carlisle as her guardians, who knows what else she'll find.
1. Chapter 1

Isabella Swan had grown up a blessed girl.

Her first language was Latin, despite having been born in Phoenix, Arizona, because her shrewd and skilled parents only spoke it in the house.

She was gifted with graceful features: a thin nose, high cheekbones, thick brown hair, and exquisite chocolate-brown eyes from her Father.

She had no worries, only delights.

She had seen the world by the age of twelve and dined with the President in Washington by fourteen (her Father was a prominent politician, a Republican more specifically).

Isabella Swan expected much of her life and rightfully did so. She had been granted all the luck you needed to succeed and had been a good girl - save for the time she went to second base with Johnny Marx in 11th grade.

She prayed to God every night and already knew three languages.

By the age of seventeen, her Mother was gone and her Father was dead.


	2. Chapter 2

The sky was a monstrous color, so foreboding Bella Swan feared to step out of the airport. She glanced upwards once more, afraid of the unusual presence of large, dark clouds and thick sheets of water falling from them, plopping on the ground in a strangely fast and heavy fashion.

She lingered inside, letting her substantial backpack cut into her shoulders, almost relishing the pain. It was the only physical pain she had; to her, it was easier than the emotional pain. The uncertainty and grief, the confusion and anger. Physical pain let it out while emotional pain was trapped inside.

She let her mind wander despite the fact she was supposed to be looking for the black Mercedes. The car that would hold her new guardians, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen. The tears ignited a bitter biting behinds her eyes before she was able to will them away. _Not here, not now. The Strangers shouldn't see me weak and scared._

"Isabella?" Her back stiffened like a steel rod, and she raised her head.

It was a man, and woman, walking quickly towards her, their faces flushed. _This was them._

They stopped before her, their eyes expectant, hers wide, but only for a minute before the woman engulfed Bella in an unexpected hug.

"Isabella, you look so grown up," the woman exclaimed, "and marvelously beautiful," she added with a light laugh. She let her go but kept her hands on Bella's shoulders for another moment, surveying her with warm, hazel eyes.

"Mrs. Cullen?" Bella managed to stammer out between baited breaths.

"Please, Dear, call me Esme." Mrs. Cullen, Esme, smiled brightly in response.

Mr. Cullen held out a hand for her which she accepted only after a moments hesitation.

"Carlisle, too, please. Can we help you with your bags?" he offered, light blue eyes twinkling and all. A flash of a memory strung through, and she grabbed it with tight fists before it could fly away again. Bella knew those eyes, and Carlisle seemed to sense it from her.

He prodded gently. "Am I becoming more familiar?" He added a light touch, hoping a joke would put the poor and obviously wretchedly, troubled girl more at ease.

Bella wasn't ready yet to confirm, so she asked slowly, "The social worker said you knew my parents?"

Esme gave an encouraging smile. "They were our dearest friends. Carlisle and Charlie attended USC together."

Bella had always been shy and quiet but the large amount of questions she had broke through any inhibitions. "Why have I never met you before?"

Esme answered again, and Bella found herself more at ease with the the soft and comforting voice. "You met us once when you were four, though it's doubtful you still remember that. All I can hope is that you know we love you as much as we loved Charlie and Renee."

She looked at Carlisle expectantly. "We will never know why your parents named us as your legal guardians, but we are honored and happy to have you as a part of our family, Isabella."

"Bella," she couldn't help but clarify softly.

"Bella. Why don't we head to the car? We have a long drive home."

Indeed, the drive was long and slightly awkward for Bella. She sat in the backseat with her against the cool window. The tall trees blurred passed in a monotonous way, and Bella wished for the unrelenting heat and sunshine of her home. She couldn't help the tears the streamed down her face; it was inevitable, although she did the best she could to keep quiet. She jumped a little when she felt Esme's hand give her a gentle squeeze on her knee before returning it to her lap without any other word. She felt relieved at the fact that they at least knew how to keep their space.

Forks, Washington, would be her new home, a severe change from Phoenix. It sat in the tip-top place of the Olympic Peninsula, nearly always under the cover of clouds and rain. There, waiting for her, was a new home and three new step-siblings, though not technically since Esme and Carlisle hadn't legally adopted her. There sat a whole new life soured by the the recent pitfalls and miseries of her life. The tears kept on falling.


	3. AN

Hello all! I'm am shocked that I even got any favorites or alerts for my story but am pleasantly surprised! Since I haven't had any A/N's in the past two (short) chapters, I thought I should do this.

This is my first go at my own story as I'm sure you all know. I was wondering if you would prefer shorter chapters maybe twice a week? Or longer ones maybe once a week? I am a student, so I can't promise always vigilant updates, but I will certainly do the best I can.

I greatly appreciate anyone giving this story the time of day, and my thanks go out to you. I hope you stay through the ride.

Next chapter soon,

C


	4. Chapter 3

Bella stared unabashedly at the large house looming out of the dark forest. The driveway had been long and winding, turning every which way and that into the impossibly deep forest. She really hoped these people were good. She'd have a hell of a hard time trying to run, and specifically not fall due to her clumsiness were she trying to escape. She clenched her eyes shut and rubbed her temples harshly at the thought.

"Bella, we're home." Esme said it genuinely in a soft whisper that floated back to Bella. She thought she might be asleep. Her eyes were still closed, though it looked like she was in pain, and her head rested in her hands; her chest rose almost too slowly for her to be awake. But large brown eyes, too deep and sad for a 17 year old, opened at her words. The thick, long lashes and all brought a lump to Esme's throat. They were Charlie's.

Bella nodded her head but remained silent and only opened up her car door and got out. It was the first time she got to breath in the air. It hung heavy and wet in her lungs and so full to it's saturation point, it was like she was standing in a bitingly cold sauna. She tightened her heavy parka around her even more, wrapping her insides in, so she didn't fall to pieces in the midst of company; she would allow herself to do that later.

She picked up a few article of luggage while hugging her backpack close to her, and started up the stone steps to the large, wooden front door.

The whole house was wood, a tricky feat in such musty weather, and white. It towered three stories above her with a hight black-shingled roof. The clear, clean windows were plentiful and many were thrown open despite the chill and suffocatingly dense air. Maybe they were trying to enjoy it before the next flood inducing rain came. It undoubtedly would be soon.

As Bella lowered her head back to her clammy hands, twisted together and hanging at her almost non-existent hips, her eyes caught on another pair in the top window, a little to the left, watching her, Esme, and Carlisle. She thought they were green, but it was too quick to tell.

Carlisle successfully finished unlocking the door and pushed it open. Bella unconsciously held her breath in and let it out in a loud whoosh when she was able to step inside.

It was eerily quiet, and she would have thought nobody was home if she hadn't seen someone in the window only moments ago.

"Bella, honey, welcome home." It was Esme again. Carlisle had been noticeably silent, but his eyes watched her expectantly, although sorrowfully. He saw too much of his dead best friend in her. She had Renee's tiny stature but everything else was Charlie's, and it pained him to her so distant. Her tears hadn't gone unnoticed to him either in the car.

Bella gazed at the room, large too if you notice the repetition, but didn't move her head, only her eyes. The colors were surprisingly light for a place so dark. There were few walls, many rugs on the hard floors, and many pictures on the pale blue walls.

Her home in Phoenix had been different. Her parents had hung art instead of childhood memories. The floors were cold and bare, and her mother had loved dramatic colors. In a place so warm, the house had been frigid. Bella didn't know any different.

"Are you hungry, Bella?" Carlisle asked. He had set her bags on the white carpeted stairs, seemingly not worried about a stain.

She had to think about his question. Her whole body had been numb, including her stomach for the past month. Her hands ghosted over her protruding collarbones, and she inhaled a shaky breath. "Yes," she answered reticently.

Carlisle smiled widely. He couldn't be old, though he had to be at lest 40; he was too good-looking. His pale blond hair had not one streak of grey, and the only lines on his face were faint laugh lines. "Good. I've got a turkey in the oven, and I'm just about to go finish. We'll all have dinner soon."

At the word all, Bella's stomach knotted up and food seemed highly unappealing. She had met her new guardians, but now she was bound to met their children. Bella was capable of doing a lot, but her social abilities with people her own age were highly lacking. She didn't talk much, even before, but not because she had nothing to say but because she had nobody she felt she could say it to. She had never met someone she saw eye to eye to with.

"While Carlisle is finishes up dinner, I'll show you up to your room," Esme encouraged brightly. It would be called encouraging given the fact Bella hadn't moved one inch from where she first stepped through the front door. She had only barely given Carlisle a wide enough berth to close the door.

"Ok." Bella hadn't set down her bags, so she didn't need to pick any up, and she followed Esme up the stairs, wet shoes in all. She briefly wondered how they kept it immaculately white.

The stairs lead to a long hallway, the one she had been able to see from the tall foyer below. There were many doors, but they passed each without opening any.

Esme talked to her the whole way. "Carlisle and I bought this house 19 years ago when he got accepted to graduate school at The University of Washington. It was a dump, and we left it that way for a few years before we officially moved here when Carlisle took a residency at the Forks General Hospital. We had no money, but each of our parents loaned us some to fix it up, so it'd at lest be suitable for their grandchild, Emmet, who I had just had a year and a half before. I think they didn't even care about Carlisle and I! But as we saved up money we eventually redid the whole house, and it's been home ever since."

Bella felt the need to at least say more than one word as she got the feeling Esme was trying to make her feel more at home. "It's beautiful."

Esme was undoubtedly surprised and stopped her ascend up the second set of stairs and turned to Bella. "Thank you. It's my pride and joy right after my children."

Bella fidgeted slightly. "Um, will I be meeting them soon?"

Esme looked embarrassed, and Bella wondered why. "I told them to stay in their rooms for the time being until you got situated. My Alice can sometimes be a handful." She added a soft laugh and glanced up the stairs. "Your bedroom is across the hall from Edward's. He keeps to himself, so you'll have plenty of privacy. Would it be alright to meet them at dinner? I thought that would be the most comfortable for you."

"That's sounds fine."

"Emmett's our oldest, and you'll love him. He's very friendly. Alice is too, and she's your age. Edward's also your age, and he's quieter, but you two seem a lot alike."

Bella didn't know whether she was comparing their muteness or not. Esme cringed as she realized what she said.

"Oh, honey, I didn't mean it like that. I can't even begin to imagine what you've been trough and-"

She hadn't finished, as Bella interrupted her. She was more surprised about that then the time Alice went to school in a mismatched outfit.

"Esme, it's okay. I understand." Bella did her best to add a small smile no matter how pitiful it was.

"Thank you. Well, now, here's your room." The two stopped in the dark hallway. It was tinier then the second floor and only had three doors, again all of them closed. She felt she was some, if not all of the reason it was so. They were hiding from her, and whether under orders or not, Bella still felt guilty.

"It was the guest bedroom, but we situated as best as we thought you'd like it. Alice was a tremendous help."

The expectancy was almost as great as when the front door had been opened, though only a little less because Bella felt some peace at the fact that this room could be hers and hers alone.

It was bright and cheerful, the exact opposite of how Bella was. Her dark eyes and hair felt odd against the sunny yellows of the walls and luminous blues and purples of the bedspread. It was how any normal teenaged girl would want their room to be, but Bella felt not like the ugly duckling but the ugly, somber crow.

Bella wasn't rude however and had been raised to get a beating (exaggeratedly) if she ever forgot one "please" or "thank you".

She nervously set her bags down and rested her hand against the dark-wooded vanity next to her. "Thank you."

"Do you like it? We can change whatever you like," Esme fretted anxiously.

Bella stopped her before she began to worry too much over her. She wasn't used to it. "No, it's perfect just the way it is."

Esme's eyes glowed as she tucked a lock of honey colored hair behind her ear. She knew Bella was certainly just being polite, but she truly hoped she could grow to like it here.

"Good. I'll leave you to get settled, and I'll send Alice up when it's time for dinner. Is there anything I can do, Bella? I'll always be here."

"I'm fine, thank you," Bella smiled sadly. Esme gave her cheek a loving stroke and closed the door behind her. Bella was alone once more, as how it should be if she weren't being placed here.

There was an attached bathroom, stocked already. They had known her favorite scent, lavender.

Bella didn't have much; she left too much behind because of the painful memories it surfaced. It was better to not have them churning in her heart, each of it's edges a razor-blade continually slicing her wounds deeper and deeper. She didn't know how much deeper they could get.

Her hand grazed across every surface as she timidly walked around. She had left her shoes at the doorway of her room, and her bare feet padded softly against the thick, white carpet. Her toenails were ripped to the edge, and her fingernails were bitten to the bone. It was like her, torn away and whittled, too weak to stand on her own.

Bella turned on the shower and shed her clothes. She stepped in even though the not-hot-yet-water bit at her skin. Her shoulders relaxed as the water warmed, and Bella sunk down to a crouch, the spray hitting her back as she curled around her knees and cried. Here she couldn't tell the difference between her tears and water, and she found it easier that way to succumb to the darkness.

She let herself sob freely, unlike in the car. She cried from the pit of her heart, and it did not stop shortly. It came from deep down inside, tears she had not let herself cry in a need to not let one more thing crush her, but she was allowing it to now. She was a stranger in a strange place.

Bella didn't stop until the water ran cold, and her eyes were scratchy. Only then did she right herself and shake away the sorrows she had let plague her for one tiny moment. Bella needed to put on a brave face now.

The glass door of the shower closed behind her, and she stepped back into the world. Her dark hair was matted against her snow-white skin, and it's dripping onto the tiled floor became more consistent before she pulled a towel around herself.

Bella knew she would be receiving a knock any second so dressed hurriedly into the same clothes that she had been wearing. Jeans, black camisole, and a loose, light blue blouse. Her heartbeat was increasing steadily as she thought about the next feat that would need to be conquered. Then, finally then, she could slip into unconsciousness, the only time when she ever found herself free from the sinister thoughts of her mother and the morbid confusions of her father.

There was a knock. "Bella? Are you in there? It's Alice." The voice was muffled through the door, but there was no mistaking the impatient tone. Alice knocked again.

Bella didn't know whether to run or hide. She didn't have any siblings, or at least not until now. It was a whole new concept to her.

She opened the door abidingly.

A pair of excited, brown eyes a few inches below Bella looked at her with intensive curiosity.

"Hello," Bella began. The hug caught her off guard and had her nearly stumbling a few steps back, the impressive strength a surprise. Alice was absolutely tiny. Petite didn't do her justice.

"Bella! I'm Alice. I'm so happy your here!" Her voice was high and loud and a little shrill to the ears.

Bella was unsure what to say in return because she was not happy to be here. And she knew Alice most have known what happened; there was no need to try and feign happiness.

It was a good thing Alice was talkative. Bella remained mute. "Come on. Let's head downstairs. Dinner's ready."

Bella was unprepared for the monologue that was about to begin.

"Do you like to shop? I love it." The love was emphasized with hand raise to the sky. "If I wasn't so short I would become a model." She did a little pirouette on the stairs and leaped down to the landing. "So instead I became a ballerina. It honestly couldn't have been a better fit. You'll have to come to one of my recitals sometime!"

"I'll have to," Bella mused, and Alice stopped in her tracks. Bella began to notice little things about her, like how her black hair was short and spiky and stood straight up, just like her nose.

"You talk!" Alice shrieked. The girl obviously had no inhibitions and linked arms with Bella.

"Yes, I talk," Bella said, unassured.

"Alice, please," Esme admonished.

Alice lead Bella to the dinner table laden with with bowls and plates of food. Her stomach growled unexpectedly. She took a seat next to Alice with Esme and Carlisle at the head.

In walked a large, massive giant with cherub cheeks and jolly blue eyes. It was an immeasurable distance from him and Alice, the elf. Bella's cheeks reddened when he caught her eyes and gave her a toothy grin.

"Hi, Bella. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Emmet." An exhale left Bella when she was able to see he wasn't as exuberant as Alice. He took a place opposite Alice and next to Carlisle.

"It's nice to meet you too."

"Emmett, did you tell your brother dinner was ready?" Esme asked disapprovingly, clucking her tongue and glancing towards the open archway.

"I did, Mom, but Edward he yelled at me to get out and that he'd come down when he was ready." Emmett held up his hands in a 'I'm-not-guilty' way.

Esme gave Carlisle a tight-lipped smile, a string of communication happening between them, unreadable by anyone else, or maybe it was just Bella.

"Hold your horse. I'm here," a voice, deep and silky, muttered. It was Edward.

Bella noticed two things very fast; one, Edward was the most handsome male she had ever laid eyes on, and two, his eyes were a vivid and bright green.

**A/N: Sorry, I'm not sure if you'd consider that a cliffhanger or not. I will do my best to get another chapter up about the same time next week. I have company coming in, so I won't have too much free time. Thank you. C**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm sorry... I won't even bother explaining... OK, well, I kind of got caught up in some other projects. I'm truly sorry for the delay. I hope the next one can be a little quicker.**

"Edward. Nice of you to finally join us," Carlisle said sourly. "Bella? This is our youngest son, Edward."

Bella timidly laid her eyes on him, an angel in all his glory. "Hello, it's nice to meet you."

Edward laid his eyes on her, getting a better look than from the window earlier. Bella was blushing, a pale pink color flooding her cheeks. He had expected a tanned bleach-blonde bimbo when his parents said Arizona. This girl looked like she came from, well, here. Her skin held no reminisce of color, and she was tiny and slight, obviously no athlete. Edward's eyes latched onto one thing in particular: hers. They were faintly red-rimmed, and it was fading fast, but he knew that she had been crying. A strange, awkward twist in his gut bewildered him. The biggest surprise came to the forefront of his mind then; she was undeniably and unassumingly angelic.

"Edward, are you going to take a seat? Or say hello?" Carlisle's tone turned more irritable with every word.

Edward gave a quick shake of his head, breaking his reverie. "Uh, yes. Hello, Bella."

Dinner reassumed as Edward took a seat, the one directly across from Bella. Their eyes met briefly before Bella quickly averted hers. Edward furrowed his brow and ran his hand through his hair. Bella bit her lip harshly. Both pain-inflicting habits, but they both would tell you they couldn't care less.

"So, Bella, you'll be driving with Alice, Edward, and Emmett in the morning. The school knows your coming, and they'll have all your classes ready for you," Esme said, piling large spoonfuls of food onto Bella's plate.

"And we'll all be there to help," Alice added eagerly. "You'll have now trouble getting around." She rolled her eyes amusingly. "I swear, there is absolutely no possible way for you to get lost in that school. _There's only 350 kids._ How many were there in your old school?"

"About 2,000."

Alice dropped her fork, and it clattered noisily onto her plate. "No way." She enunciated each syllable, despite the fact there being only two.

"Mom, why couldn't we have lived someplace, oh, I don't know, where there were actually people?"

Esme shook her head lightly, and a bemused smile slid across her lips. "I like the solitude."

"Maybe when your old and like to watch the wind blow," Alice huffed.

Bella spoke up unexpectedly, even to herself. "It really wasn't all that great. We had to go through metal-detectors just to enter the school. And _that school_, you definitely would get lost." She dipped her head to hide her blush. Getting lost had happened to her numerous times before and tripping down the stairs was a common recurrence. She desperately hoped Forks high school was a single-level building.

The stunned silence was quickly covered up by Emmett, the Master of all sticky situations.

"Bella, do you play any sports?" He wagged his eyebrows at her mischievously.

Bella shook her head somberly. "No."

"Oh." Emmett only looked slightly disappointed but brightened remarkably fast. "That's okay! I can teach you them. It's too bad you didn't come just one week earlier. The football season just ended at Forks High."

A painful hush, too painful to be called awkward, fell even more heavily and concretely than just moments before, blanketing them all in silence.

Had Bella came to Washington just one week earlier, her whole life would have fallen apart one week earlier. The court proceedings where her Mother renounced her claim on her would have happened just one week earlier. Her Father would have taken the deathly blow just one week earlier. One week meant a lot.

And without any planning on doing so, the so-called Master of sticky situations made this one greatly stickier.

Bella downed her cup of sparkling water in one gulp, hiding her turmoil with a glass. Emmett hid his with forkfuls of carrots, and Alice with incessant twirling of her hair. Esme and Carlisle eyed each other warily, each ones mind flying at hyper-speed to figure out what to say next.

Edward was different. He sat there languidly and watched Bella all the way until she was forced to set down her glass because there was no plausible way she could extricate one last drop from it. And he continued to watch her as his mind tried not to hash over the devastating detail of her story. Alice, Em, and him all knew it. There was no way they couldn't.

"How are you so pale? Aren't you from Arizona?" Edward blurted out. The stickier situation easily became a gooey mess.

Bella raised her shocked eyes away from her clammy hands, intertwined together in her lap. "I guess you're wondering why I don't play volleyball and aren't blonde?"

"You read my mind." A wicked grin was exchanged between them.

"My mother's part albino and my father tried out for the police force but couldn't run a hundred yards without tripping. I'm a product of my parents." Bella was unable add her own grin, but her dry, though subtle sense of humor hadn't seemed to abate.

"Ok, well, how is dinner everyone?" Esme exclaimed cheerfully and to be quite honest, stiffly. She was trying to prevent her normally mute boy from asking any other rude and inappropriate questions.

Esme was met with many compliments and took off on a story about her latest project designing an apartment building in Seattle. All was well again, or at least in her book it was.

Edward was sleeping fitfully, as he was most nights, but tonight was different in a slight way. He had a new occupant across the hall, and normally that would have been no cause for concern, but Bella was having nightmares.

Strangled, mixed cries and screams hit his ears with a strange intensity. It wasn't loud, nothing that would wake up anybody else, but the distressing and deplorable sounds troubled his thoughts. He lied awake for a awhile, the pathetic cries not once dimming as he studied his ceiling. Edward wasn't completely sure whether she was awake or asleep, but nonetheless, he couldn't stop his feet from swiftly carrying himself out of bed and across his hall, being careful not to open his door too quick in fear of it squeaking.

Bella's door was closed but not locked. Edward did his best to not classify himself as a creepy stalker. But he was in fact sneaking into a stranger's room at night hours for no known reason, even to himself. He hoped he didn't end up on _Dateline_ when he was older.

But when he saw her he knew.

He wanted to comfort her and rub away the crease between her eyebrows and dry her tears. That did it the most, the tears. Something about how wretched and heartbreaking it was almost brought Edward to his knees. This girl had been through Hell and back again, and she was now lying on soaked sheets: tears and sweat.

Edward couldn't watch anymore. He couldn't do anything else. And he really didn't want to be anymore like those people on _Dateline_, so he left Bella's room.

He knew his ceiling like the back of his hand when the sun finally rose behind the clouds.

Another day here, another day gone. He hoped today would be the one to change something.


End file.
